What’s It Like to Visit Barrow, Alaska?

home » holiday guides

Of course Barrow, Alaska is gorgeous – how could any place so wild and remote and unseen not be so? It’s full of independent and resourceful Alaskans, both settlers and Native Americans, as well as Hispanic and Latino populations, Asians, African Americans and Pacific Islanders. Although most places in Alaska have all your modern conveniences, transportation costs mean that it’s a very expensive place to visit.

 Barrow Alaska

Daylight and weather

To keep some semblance of a healthy sleep cycle, there’s an 11pm curfew in place to keep people from running wild amidst the rocks and the glaciers, driven dotty by the summer midnight sun. When it’s time for eternal night, the sun sets on the 18th or 19th of November every year and will not rise above the horizon for another 65 days.

Landscape

Barrow is technically a desert, and it receives less than 5 inches of rainfall per year. Not what you might expect in a landscape surrounded by glacial pools and verging on ocean. Local food is still comprised of a lot of subsistence meat and fish. It’s commonplace for Alaskans to include major species like whales, polar bears, caribou and local fish in their diets.

Transportation

The roads in Alaska are unpaved because of the permafrost. You can’t actually get to Barrow via road – there are none to connect the city with the rest of the country. Instead, Alaska Airlines operate a passenger jet service.

Does a trip to Barrow appeal to you? If you’re up for travel in an (at times) difficult landscape you will be richly rewarded by an experience in one of the most unique cities on earth. Don’t expect a holiday with every comfort provided, but you can enjoy a special culture created out of necessity from living in the most remote place in the USA.

Other Related Guides